Princess Cut Diamond Engagement Rings, Necklaces & Earrings

Princess Cut Diamond Engagement Rings, Necklaces & Earrings



Princess Cut Diamond Jewelry - A Masterful Art & Science


The princess cut diamond is relentless, featuring a unique square shape and 57 facets. Trailing in popularity only to the round brilliant, princess cut diamonds have introduced a whole new dimension to fine jewelry. Prior to the square diamond shape, the foundation of diamond jewelry consisted of rounded shapes, splits and curves. The introduction of sharp edges in the 90 degree angles of the princess cut diamond forced the industry to improvise, and modify engagement rings, necklaces and earrings to accommodate the princess cut diamond shape. If we consider a classic side stone halo engagement ring setting with a round cut center diamond, can you think of a few changes that we would need to make, in order to change the center stone to a princess cut diamond?


Understanding How Princess Cut Diamonds Fit in


Since prong diamond settings currently lead the industry in popularity, the simplest way to illustrate the essence of accommodating a princess cut diamond shape is by focusing on the positioning of the prongs. In a simple pair of diamond stud earrings, the positioning of the prongs holding the diamond in each earring will often vary by mere millimeters in the round cut versus the princess cut version. This is why a reputable jewelry store will often recommend starting with a diamond, rather than a setting. More specifically, this method will ensure that you are not attempting to set a beautiful piece of fine jewelry produced for a round cut diamond with a princess cut shape, or vise versa. Although it is sometimes possible to make this work with a prong setting, over bending prongs or simply having prongs in a less than optimal position for the given center diamond increases the risk of damage, losing the diamond and other nuances.


The Unique Aspects of Princess Cut Engagement Rings




Even though the factors we consider in accommodating the princess cut diamond are similar across the different categories of fine jewelry, the more complex a given design, the more work it takes to transform the design to accommodate a different diamond shape. In particular, this diamond engagement ring features a split shank, round cut side stones and a princess cut center diamond in a prong setting. In general, split shank engagement rings introduce an additional detail that must be accounted for in transforming the design to accommodate a princess cut diamond. In addition, the halo necessitates yet another alteration to the design, since the introduction of the princess cut diamond renders a square rather than a round halo. Unlike a classic solitaire engagement ring, where we can (in many cases) simply reposition the prongs, in a split shank halo engagement ring, the two resulting strands need to be repositioned first, in order to alter the shape of the halo and positioning of the prongs, to properly fit the princess cut center diamond. While this is not always true with all split shank engagement ring settings, when the strands and halo do need to be repositioned, almost the entire design needs to be altered.




After a quick glance at the round cut version of this same engagement ring design, the difference in the shape of the halo jumps out immediately. What is not quite as visible is the repositioning of the two strands of the split shank. Additionally, the positioning of the prongs has been slightly altered. Finally, the princess cut halo had a total of 20 melee diamonds, while this round cut halo has only 16. Stated differently, while this diamond engagement ring features a seemingly similar split shank, a halo and 28 round cut side stones, quite a few details had to be altered in order to accommodate the round cut and princess cut diamond shapes.


An Overview of Princess Cut Diamond Earrings




In most cases, the designs of princess cut diamond earrings are not quite as involved as the princess cut engagement rings we just reviewed. Outside of the more complex drop, dangle and bar earrings with modern and sophisticated design variations, diamond earrings are easier to understand. In essence, the same transformation of the diamond halo shape we discussed in the previous section, involving split shank engagement rings, also applies here. The good news is that there is no split shank, which decreases the number of nuances that must be addressed to transform this pair of diamond earrings from a round cut to a princess cut diamond shape.




The round cut version of these halo earrings also follows similar principles to the round cut version of the split shank engagement ring we reviewed above. It is easy to see that even if this particular pair of earrings could accommodate princess cut diamonds, without changing the shape of the halo the final result would be aesthetically less than desirable.


You Guessed It, Princess Cut Diamond Necklaces Follow the Same Principles




As you have probably already inferred, princess cut diamond necklaces follow the same basic principles of design compatibility. In other words, this diamond halo necklace was designed around and is intended solely for a princess cut center diamond. Try to set this necklace with any other diamond shape and the end result is not likely to render success. This is because, much like the split shank princess cut engagement ring shown earlier, in order to change the shape of the center diamond, the entire design must be altered to accommodate the different shape. In this case, altering the design means changing the shape of the halo as well as the positioning of the prongs in the necklace.


Princess Cut Diamond Jewelry is All About Attention to Detail


As with all fine jewelry, princess cut diamond engagement rings, necklaces and earrings are designed around the main diamond. For those who are flexible on the shape of the center diamond, it is possible to browse a finished piece of jewelry and purchase it as is, with the shape of the center diamond it was intended for. On the other hand, if you are absolutely set on a princess cut center diamond, it is always advisable to find the diamond first and subsequently search for the engagement ring, necklace or pair of earrings that will accommodate that particular diamond. In the alternative, it is often possible to customize a given design to accommodate a princess cut diamond, even when it was originally intended for a different diamond shape. However, by now you have mastered the idea that such customization has several moving parts, so it is therefore labor intensive and often costly. Understanding this ahead of time will hopefully lead you in the right direction of finding the perfect princess cut diamond engagement ring, necklace or earrings.